Adjustable tool holders



Sept. 27, 1955 J. E. SHEPARD ADJUSTABLE TOOL. HOLDERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 10, 1952 m J WW INVENTOR. JOSAPH E Swa /pep BY M P 7, 1955 .1. E. SHEPARD 2,718,807

ADJUSTABLE TOOL HOLDERS Filed May 10, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 3 4 22 Z 9 Z 5 a 22 INVENTOR.

Jose/w A SHEPA e0 United States Patent ADJUSTABLE TOOL HOLDERS Joseph E. Shepard, near Seattle, Wash.

Application May 10, 1952, Serial No. 287,127

8 Claims. (Cl. 82-36) The present invention concerns a tool holder for various metal working operations, for use in turning, boring, milling, etc., for example. Such a tool holder must be adjustable in various respects relative to the work, in accordance with the various conditions of operation. It should be adjustable bodily transversely of the work; the tool should be adjustable vertically; likewise, the tool should be adjustable rotatively about a vertical axis. Provision must be made to secure all parts immovably in each such position of adjustment, and accurately as the tool is adjusted to each such position. The tools working point should usually be located as closely as is feasible to the solid point of support, and this usually means as closely as possible to an upstanding tool post. All parts should be of minimum bulk and complexity, in order to give maximum freedom of access to and visibility about the cutting point.

It is difficult to reconcile these somewhat conflicting requirements. To do this is a principal aim of this invention. More particularly, this invention provides a tool holder whereby all the several adjustments are permitted, and the tool is held securely and accurately in attained position, by a single securing device. In so doing bulk and complexity are eliminated, simplicity of operation is attained, and ruggedness is assured. The attendant simplicity of construction minimizes the cost of the tool holder. It is applicable to all supporting slides or bases, hence is usable with all types of machines. The tools support, adaptable to all styles of tools, will furnish close-in sup-. port for the tool, yet accessibility to the work is facilitated.

With these and other objects in mind, as will appear more fully hereinafter, this invention is directed to an adjustable tool holder assembly, for application to a support such as is provided with the usual undercut slot in its upper surface, all as described in this specification and defined in the claims, and as illustrated in a representative form in the accompanying drawings.

Figure l is an isometric view of the tool holder, with parts assembled and secured in operative relationship.

Figure 2 is a partially exploded isometric view of the several parts of the tool holder.

Figure 3 is an axial sectional view of the tool holder, with parts in the positions corresponding to Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view on the line 44 of Figure 3.

In any machining operation the tool is supported upon a base or carriage 9, which may itself be movable along the bed of the machine, and which may be considered as part of the machine itself. Usually this base 9 is provided with a T-shaped or otherwise undercut slot 90 in its upper surface, directed transversely of the work so that the tool holder may move inwardly towards or outwardly from the work, and the tool holder of this invention is provided with a slide 10 shaped to fit within and slide along this slot 90. A post 1 extends upwardly from the slide 10, through the slot. traversing means, such as a cross-feed screw, but such feed means have been omitted from the drawings, being The slide may be acted upon by ice j unnecessary to the understanding of this invention, and it is immaterial whether or not such feed meansbe used. No such feed means is necessary to fix the slide in an adjusted position; such fixation is accomplished dependably by the mechanism of this invention.

vA sleeve 2 is axially bored to slide lengthwise of and to rotate about the post 1, and rests at its lower endwhich may be enlarged by a flange 20upon the base 9. Its height should be, preferably, somewhat less than the height of the post 1, so that the upper end of the post, threaded as at 11, projects above the sleeve. Externally the sleeve is threaded, at 21, but the threads are interrupted by at least one, and preferably several equiangularly spaced grooves 22 which extend the length of the sleeve. Three such grooves are illustrated.

These grooves are filled with gibs 3, which can slide lengthwise of the grooves, and which externally are threaded in consonance with the threading at 21 of the sleeve 2. Each such gib, in use, is so located within its groove that its lower end is not bottomed in the groove, and its upper end projects above the upper end of the sleeve 2; preferably each gib, if there are more than one, projects upwardly thus by an amount equal to the projection of all the others.

A collar 4 is threaded internally to fit the threads 21 of the sleeve, and, of course, to fit the like threads of the gib or gibs 3. Thus by relative rotation the collar can be elevated along the sleeve, or lowered. The collar is formed to support a cutting tool, as T, and the means to that end may take a variety of forms, no one of which in itself is essential to the remainder of this invention. The means illustrated is a slot 40, open at one side, and set screws 41 that can be tightened down on a tool shank received within the slot 40. This holds the tool in a generally tangentially directed position, close up to the axis of the post 1. A larger tool may be similarly held by an adapter, which in turn is secured within the slot 40. By regulating the endwise projection of the tools working point, it can be supported very steadily, closely to the posts axis.

The assembly is capped by means which will react from the post 1 at its upper end, to pull the post upwardly and to press the gibs 3 downwardly. A cap 5, notched at 50 to span and to rest upon the projecting upper ends of the gibs 3, but of insuflicient depth to rest upon the upper end of the sleeve 2, is bored to fit over the upper end of the post 1. A nut 6 is threaded upon the post 1, and when tightened presses downwardly the cap 5 and the gibs 3.

Since the nut 6 when thus tightened reacts to urge the post 1 and the slide 10 upwardly, and the downward urging upon the gibs presses the threadedly engaged collar 4 downwardly, the sleeve 2 which also is threadedly engaged with the collar is likewise pressed downwardly. The base 9 is clamped between the flange 20 and the slide 10, to fix the tool holder as a whole relative to the base. In addition, the downward urging of the nut 6 upon the gibs 3 can only urge the sleeve 2 downwardly by reason of a force acting from the gibs threads downwardly on the upper face of the collars threads, and transmitted by the lower face of the collars threads to the sleeves threads. There is a tendency to displace the gibs longitudinally relative to the sleeve, and all this efiects a clamping of the collars threads between the threads of the gibs and of the sleeve, respectively, which effectively clamps the collar against any rotation. The combination of these two clamping actions, both achieved by tightening the single nut 6, is to lock all parts of the tool holder in the precise position of adjustment which it has attained, without any tendency to displace it in the clamping process.

With the nut 6 slacked off, the sleeve can be rotated by rotating the cap 5, which is exteriorly knurled for grasping. If the collar is held against rotation, this elevates or lowers the collar 4 and the tool it supports, by fine increments. The collar can rotate with the sleeve, usually only slightly, without relative adjustment. The slide and the entire assembly can be displaced along the slot 90. Whenever the desired position of adjustment is attained, all parts are fixed in such position by the single action of tightening the nut 6.

Thus it will be seen that the construction is simple, compact, and rugged; that adjustment is easily and accurately accomplished, and can encompass a wide range, if necessary; and that the tool holder may be used with a great variety of tools and in a wide variety of machines, to accomplish many different operations.

I claim as my invention:

1. A tool holder for use with a supporting base such as has an undercut slot in its upper surface, comprising an internally threaded collar having means for support of a tool, a slide receivable in and slidable along the bases slot, a post upstanding from said slide through the slot, a sleeve slidable lengthwise of and rotatable about said post, hearing at its lower end upon the base, and externally threaded to receive the collars threads, said sleeve having at least one longitudinal slot extending from its upper end downwardly along its threaded surface, a gib received in and slidable lengthwise of said sleeves slot, projecting above the upper end of the sleeve and spaced from its slots lower end, and threaded coinplementally to the sleeves and the collars threads, means securable upon the upper end of the post, and adjustable relative thereto for reaction therefrom downwardly upon the upper end of said gib, but not directly upon the sleeve, to displace the gib longitudinally relative to the sleeve and thus to lock the collar relative to the sleeve, and in turn, through the gib, the collar, and the threads joining the same, to urge the sleeve downwardly upon the base, and, through the post, to urge the slide upwardly, to clamp the tool holder as a whole in place upon the base.

2. A tool holder as in claim 1, wherein the post is threaded at its upper end, and the means reacting thence downwardly upon the gin comprises a nut threaded upon said post and bearing upon the upper end of the gib.

3. A tool holder as in claim 1, wherein the collar-locking means which are securable upon the upper end of the post include a cap notched in its lower surface to receive and span the upwardly projecting end of the gib, and a pressure member fitted upon and reacting from the post upon said cap, to urge the latter downwardly, said cap affording a means to rotate the sleeve through the gibs interengagement with the sleeve, with relation to the collar, for height adjustment of the collar and its tool, while said pressure member is slaclted off.

4. A tool holder as in claim 1, wherein the sleeve is slotted along a plurality of substantially equiangularly spaced lines, a gib slidably received in each such slot, each gib being similarly threaded, and having its upper end similarly projecting above the upper end of the sleeve, a cap the lower surface whereof rests upon the several such upper ends of the gibs, collectively, but clears the sleeve, and wherein the post is threaded at its upper end, and the means reacting thence downwardly upon the gibs comprises a nut threaded upon the post and bearing upon said cap and thence upon the gibs.

5. A tool holder as in claim 4, wherein the cap is notched in its lower surface to span and receive the upper end of each gib, and thereby may rotate the sleeve Within the collar, for relative vertical adjustment of the collar and sleeve.

6. A tool holder for use with a supporting base which has an undercut slot in its upper surface, comprising a collar having means for the securement of a tool, a slide receivable in and slidable along the bases slot, a post upstanding from said slide through the slot, a sleeve having a bore complemental to said post, the sleeve being slidable lengthwise of and rotatable about said post, and hearing at its lower end upon the base, an element guided on and projecting above said sleeve for relative movement lengthwise of the sleeve, said sleeve and said element each having means complementally engageable with said collar to urge the latter longitudinally, and means securable upon the upper end of said post and reacting thence upon the projecting upper end of said element to urge the latter, and hence the collar, downwardly, and by reaction through the collar to urge the sleeve downwardly against the base in opposition to the upward force acting upon the slide through the post, and so to secure both the collar and the slide in their respective adjusted positions.

7. A tool holder comprising a base and a post upstanding above said base and threaded at its upper end, an internally threaded collar having means for the securement of a tool, a sleeve externally threaded complernentally to and threaded Within the collars threads, resting at its lower end upon the base and closely fitting the post for rotative and axial movement relative thereto, said collar being formed with at least one longitudinal slot interrupting its threaded surface, a gib received in and slidable lengthwise of said slot, and threaded complementally to and interengaged with the threads of the collar, in continuation of the interrupted threads of the sleeve, a nut threaded upon the posts upper end, and means interposed between said nut and the gibs upper end, to transmit pressure from the nut endwise upon the gib, tending to displace the latter and its threads relative to the collars threads and towards the base, and so to bind and fix the collar in its position of adjustment upon the sleeve and relative to the post and base.

8. A tool holder comprising a base and a post upstanding above said base and threaded at its upper end, an internally threaded collar having means for the securement of a tool, a sleeve externally threaded complementally to and threaded within the collars threads, resting at its lower end upon the base and closely fitting about the post for rotative and axial movement relative to the post, said collar being formed with a plurality of angularly spaced longitudinal slots interrupting its threaded surface, a gib received in and slidable lengthwise of each slot, and threaded complementally to andvinterengaged with the threads of the collar, in continuation of the interrupted threads of the sleeve, the gibs when thus operatively engaged projecting at their upper ends above the upper end of the sleeve, and at their lower ends stopping short of the bottom of their respective slots, a nut threaded upon the upper end of the post, a cap bored to fit upon the post beneath the nut, and notched in its lower surface to span and rest upon the upper ends of the several gibs, thereby, under the influence of downward pressure transmitted from the nut, tending to displace the gibs and their threads downwardly relative to the collars threads and so to bind and fix the collar in its position of adjustment upon the sleeve, and through the so-fixed collar to urge the sleeve downwardly upon the base, to secure all parts in fixed position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

